Key to My Heart
by Ayanfe
Summary: In which Magnus and Alec live across the hall from each other.
1. Chapter 1

**Even if you don't read this chapter, I recommend reading the second.**

* * *

The first time Alec saw him he was sitting on the floor, back against the door and eyes drooping with fatigue.

Eyes that shot wide open as soon as he came into view. The man tilted his head, brows furrowing in thought. "We haven't met before, have we?"

Alec paused, his key halfway between his pocket and the door. "No." He took a moment to look over the man. He was attractive, to say the least. Even if he was wearing leather pants and eyeliner.

"Well that's just not right. We're neighbors. Whatever happened to the good ol' days where a man knew his neighbor, goddamn it!" He sprung lithely to his feet and extended his hand. "Magnus Bane."

A little wary after the outburst, Alec shook hands with him. "Alec Lightwood."

"Pleasure to meet you, Alec Lightwood," Magnus said with a grin.

He decided to give in to his curiosity. "Why are you standing out in the hall?"

"Ah, that, right. Left my keys inside. No worries, the landlord should be here soon. And by soon, I mean in about three hours." He didn't look all that concerned.

"Oh. Okay." Alec unlocked his own door - after all, he wasn't the one who had forgotten his keys. He was halfway inside and about to close the door when he noticed someone was in the way. "Can I help you?"

"Aren't you going to invite me inside?"

"No."

"Oh come on. You aren't really going to just leave me out there, are you?"

"I was planning on it."

Magnus rolled his eyes, like it was some sort of inside joke between them. He slid past Alec into the apartment without another word.

Alec sighed. Apparently he had a guest. "Can I get you something to drink?" He asked sarcastically.

"Tea would be great, thanks." Magnus chirped, already making himself at home on the couch. Well at least he had taken his shoes off at the door, Alec thought.

"I don't have tea." Apparently he had also resigned himself to whatever the hell this was.

"Pity. Well then whatever you're having is fine. Oh awesome, you DVR Parks and Rec!"

* * *

Alec tried not to wince too much when he put his weight on his foot. "Fuck" he hissed under his breath.

"Alec?" It seemed that he had been so focused on limping that he hadn't noticed Magnus coming home. "What are you doing?" His green eyes took in the clunky ankle brace.

"Going to get my mail."

"What's wrong with your foot?"

"Sprained my ankle." Rather severely, if his doctor was to be believed. He gritted his teeth and took another step forward.

Magnus glanced between the hand he had on the wall to steady himself and his bad foot. "Are you sure you should be walking?"

Not according to the doctor. But what did he know? "I'm fine," Alec assured him. "Look, if you're so worried I'll go get my crutches."

That was definitely the wrong thing to say. "You're supposed to be on crutches?" Magnus exclaimed.

"Technically yes, but I don't think the doctor really knew what he was doing so-"

"Well you can make that decision after you go to medical school." Magnus began steering him back into his apartment, taking some of the weight off his foot. "If you need your mail that badly, I'll get it for you."

"You don't have my key."

"Then give it to me."

Alec knew this wasn't an argument he would win. He gave him the key.

* * *

He was dripping with sweat, his heart was pounding like a drum and his muscles ached from disuse.

It was fantastic.

Okay, maybe he didn't need to end his run by sprinting up five flights of stairs but it wasn't his fault. It was one of his first runs since spraining his ankle. So he pushed it a hair too far - sue him.

He turned the last corner to his apartment, mere feet away from privacy and a relaxing shower, when the only other person in the hall caught his eye. "Morning."

Magnus grinned in that unique way of his. The one that could easily be mistaken for a smirk until you saw his eyes and the way they lit up. "Howdy, neighbor," he said with the tip of an invisible hat.

Alec bit the inside of his cheek to hide a smile and shook his head. "No. Just no."

Magnus shrugged. "Yeah, I can't really pull that off. Hey, are you hungry? We can grab breakfast if you want."

He could eat. "Sure. I just have to go inside and change real quick."

"No, don't, I kinda like the sweaty look."

Alec laughed awkwardly, hoping Magnus would write off the sudden blush as a result of the exercise. "Uh, whatever. Let me just get my wallet then."

Magnus patted his pockets like he was searching for something. "Right, good idea."

It hardly took him the blink of an eye to get what he needed, although after a second thought - and sniff - he decided to change clothes despite what Magnus said. Magnus was already waiting for him in the hall, furiously jiggling his door handle and cursing under his breath.

It seemed Magnus had forgotten more than just his wallet.

"Everything alright there?" Alec teased.

"I hate locks! I swear to Mother Gaia, I will implant a key in my arm if I have to. I will permanently attach it to my body if it means I never forget the bloody thing again!"

"Hey Magnus?"

"What?" He snarled.

Alec held up his own wallet between two fingers. "Still want to get breakfast?"

* * *

Either someone was trying to break down his door with a battering ram, or someone really needed to learn how to knock properly. Eventually Alec concluded that whoever it was didn't have anywhere to be, and he decided to open the door.

"Do you have any tequila?"

Alec blinked. Mostly because Magnus had just nearly punched him, thinking his face was a door. "Um, no. I actually have nothing but beer."

It was Magnus's turn to look surprised. "Domestic?"

Alec nodded.

Magnus looked horrified. "Oh dear God. Alexander, you really need to expand your palate."

Before he knew it, a hand was on his arm and he was being dragged out the door. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to force so much alcohol into you. I have really good scotch, and if you're lucky I'll put those two years of bartending to good use and make you a drink. Maybe a Sazerac, you'd probably like that. Have you ever tried absinthe before?"

"No."

"Oh awesome. I hope you can call in sick tomorrow because we're going to get so fucked up."

* * *

He almost felt bad about doing this but...It was a necessary evil.

Magnus's door was nearly always unlocked when he was home. And his television was amazing - thin and bright and so beautiful in that moment there might as well have been angels singing. Alec figured he wouldn't mind. Right? After all, he had invited himself into Alec's apartment on several occasions.

Alec found the remote and began searching for the right channel. Apparently the volume of the TV was enough to draw Magnus out of wherever he was.

"Alec? What are you doing?" If he had to guess, Alec would have said Magnus sounded amused.

He decided honesty was in the fact the best policy. At least in this instance. "I forgot to pay the cable bill and I'm missing the game. What channel is ESPN on?"

Magnus rolled his eyes and took over the remote. Seconds later Alec was engrossed by the game once again. Magnus sank down onto the couch beside him and kicked his feet up on the table.

"Pass the chips."

* * *

Alec felt way too exhausted for it to only be eight pm.

He wasn't even surprised at this point. His morning had kicked off with an alarm that had gone off two hours too early, only for him to fall back asleep and sleep through the correct alarm. Then he'd lost his MetroCard, nearly got fired for being late, accidentally insulted his sister over the phone, and finally he had come home to find that he'd left the water running in the bathroom and all the lights and air conditioning on.

So his utility bill was fucked.

Then he just had to go and be optimistic. No, worse: hopeful. He remembered the guy he'd met at the bar. Able to hold an actual conversation - asking "my place or yours?" didn't count - and didn't need a fake ID to get into a bar.

His standards just were getting lower and lower.

But on top of that, the guy had been cute and sort of funny, so when he asked for Alec's number he gave it to him.

Now Alec just felt like bitching to someone. Isabelle wasn't exactly available, thanks to his foot-in-mouth disease. It was a real problem. There needed to be charities and research centers for people like him.

He was just outside his door when he suddenly gave up, groaned, and slid down the length of the wall. Fuck beds, he would sleep in the hall. He didn't want to move. (It was worth mentioning that Alec was a little drunk and more than a little overdramatic.)

"Hey I thought I heard you making dying walrus noises out here."

"I hate you."

Magnus laughed and settled on the ground next to him.

"Aren't you supposed to be at..." Alec rummaged through his mental storage. "A play or musical or something? With that blonde friend of yours."

"Oh that. I'm sick." He looked Magnus up and down. He looked fine. "Not really," Magnus admitted. "I just didn't want to go. Don't get me wrong, anyone who doesn't like the Sound of Music can suck my dick, but that's the exception to the rule."

"And the rule is?"

"That musicals are boring."

"What about Le Misérables? Wicked, the Book of Mormon?" Alec would go his grave claiming that Isabelle had forced him to watch all those.

"Who knew you were so cultured?"

Alec gave him the middle finger.

Magnus laughed again. "So how was your night? You're back early."

Alec groaned loudly, leaning into the body beside him. "I just left the worst date ever."

"Really? What happened?"

"It was going fine until we were interrupted...By his girlfriend. Actually, scratch that. His fiancée."

Magnus made a sympathetic noise. "Yikes. Let me guess; she was pissed at you, not her cheating boyfriend."

"Right in one."

"Ugh. Sorry about your date."

Alec shrugged. "Wasn't the worst part of my day."

Magnus raised an eyebrow but apparently decided not to question it. "Alright. Do you want to go do something? It's still pretty early."

Alec shook his head. "I'm good. Maybe another time, I'm kinda tired." Pleasantly tipsy and relaxed now that Magnus was there was probably more accurate.

Alec started to get up. It took him a moment to get the key into the lock but he managed it.

Still sitting cross-legged on the floor, Magnus tried again. "You wanna put on Breaking Bad and play Battleship?"

The question startled a laugh out of him. "I cheat," he warned.

Magnus rolled his eyes and stood up. "Who doesn't?"

* * *

"Hold out your hand and close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just do it, Alec."

He did as instructed. A moment later something small and metal was dropped into his palm. Alec opened his eyes. "A key?"

Was Magnus blushing? He looked almost...shy. It was cute. "To my apartment. You know, I just thought it'd be practical. Me always forgetting my keys or losing them and you come over pretty often so I just figured." Magnus made a vague gesture.

Alec smiled and closed his hand around the key.

The next day, he gave Magnus a copy of his key.

* * *

"-so then she called me an asshole, started throwing clothes into a bag, and said she was going to stay with her friend Simon. At this point I don't give a shit about keeping it a secret anymore. I get down on one knee, show her the ring and ask her to marry me. She said yes, we had a great rest of the night. So wants to tell her mom right away, so we go to Brooklyn, meet Jocelyn for breakfast, and she - Jocelyn, not Clary - slaps me for making her daughter cry. So that's why I have the handprint on my face."

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "You deserved it."

"What? How?" Jace spluttered. "All I wanted was to get engaged, and in return my future mother-in-law hits me!"

"Proposals are supposed to be romantic. You're supposed to make her think you love her and want to spend the rest of your life with her - not make her think you're cheating on her."

"Well I apologize for going to every jewelry store in Manhattan trying to find the perfect ring."

"You could have proposed with a rubber band and she would have said yes."

"Maybe, but I'm classy as fuck."

Alec snorted lightly. He was perfectly fine with listening to Jace and Isabelle bicker and gossip, but every once in a while he felt the need to comment. "I don't think any classy person says that they're 'classy as fuck.'"

"Shut up, Alec," Jace said with no real bite. "What do you know? It's nine am on a Saturday and you're having beer and Chinese takeout for breakfast."

"So are you."

"But I'm using the chopsticks."

"What difference does that make?"

"It implies that I'm cultured - and good with my hands." Jace waggled his eyebrows.

Isabelle made a face. "Ugh. I just remembered why we don't live together."

"Because we're adults with paying jobs?" Jace asked.

"Because I can only tolerate you in small doses."

Then the door opened and Magnus swept in, holding a bowl full of dry cereal and a handful of envelopes. He glanced at Jace and Isabelle on the couch, then carried on like they weren't there. "Hey Alec." He tossed the envelopes on the counter. "I picked up your mail for you. Do you have any milk?"

There was no need to answer because Magnus was already looking in his fridge. But he did anyway, along with standing up and going over to him. "Yeah I just picked some up. Thanks, by the way." He nodded at the mail. "That's Jace and Isabelle, I told you about them."

"Right," Magnus nodded. He poured the milk over his cereal and leaned against the counter as he began eating.

"Your ex-girlfriend stopped by. I ran into her in the hallway"

Magnus swallowed. "Jesus Christ. What did you say?"

"I'm sorry, no English, you have today's homework, ugly face?" Alec smiled to himself, knowing Magnus would find it funny once he explained.

Magnus blinked. "Did you just have a stroke?"

"No. When I saw her I panicked and started speaking French. Badly. You were right, she has the crazy eyes."

As expected, Magnus laughed. "Didn't I tell you? I mean, what sane person steals someone's bed frame?"

"I'm still impressed by that. You were only gone, like what? An hour?"

"I'm glad my life amuses you." Magnus deadpanned. "Anyway, I should get back. Are you still coming over for dinner tonight?"

"To get food poisoning? I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Magnus rolled his eyes. "Alright, Chuckles. I'll see you later, provided that you leave the jokes at home."

Once he was gone, Alec reclaimed his seat by his siblings and settled back in for breakfast.

Isabelle raised an eyebrow. "Who was that?"

It dawned on him that he hadn't actually introduced Magnus. "Oh, that was Magnus. He lives across the hall."

Jace and Isabelle exchanged a look that Alec couldn't decipher.

Eventually Isabelle shrugged. "He's kind of cute," she said, smiling down at her food.

* * *

"Ugh." Alec collapsed amidst a sea of cardboard boxes. "Why do you need so much shit?"

Magnus set down another box on the kitchen counter. "Half of this is yours," he retorted.

"No, it's not. Maybe twenty five percent of it is - thirty, if we're pushing it. But there's no way half of this is mine."

Magnus laid down beside him and tugged on his shirt. Alec went easily, parting his lips slightly as they met Magnus's. Everything about it was familiar and easy and warm. The kiss stayed patient, existing in the realm of love without crossing into lust.

"We'll have to get a copy of the key made tomorrow," Magnus murmured against his mouth.

"So much work," he groaned.

Magnus pulled away. "But it's worth it, right?" He asked, and Alec knew he wasn't just talking about their new apartment.

Alec smiled. "Yeah...It's worth it." As if that was ever in question. There wasn't a day that went by that Alec wasn't grateful for Magnus locking himself out that first night.

* * *

 **Most of these bits and pieces were taken from/inspired by a multi-chapter AH story I have in my drafts. Comment if you'd be interested in that.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Guys, help, I'm supposed to be studying for my anatomy test.**

* * *

"Do you want to go out with me?"

...

"On, you know, a date...type...thing."

...

Alec groaned into his hands. "You dumbass," he told himself. "Why don't I just tell him 'nice shoes, wanna fuck?'" It was sad, sad day when he was forced to turn his own sarcasm against himself.

Then he took a deep breath, looked in the mirror and tried again. "Okay, here it goes," he muttered. "Hey Magnus, I know we're just friends and we haven't really know each other for that long, but I'm kind of ridiculously in love with you. Do you want to go out sometime?"

"Sure."

Alec must have jumped ten feet in the air. "Magnus! What, I, uh - where did you come from?"

Magnus gave him a flat stare. "This is my apartment, idiot." His lips twitched like he was fighting a grin.

"H-How long have you been standing there?"

"Let's see...Somewhere around the 'nice shoes, wanna fuck?' Which, for the record, would have worked. But the ridiculously-in-love thing was cute too." While Alec was busy processing that, Magnus forged on. "So how about tomorrow night? You can take me to dinner, pick me up around seven. I assume you know where I live."

Alec blinked, then nodded. Maybe a little too eagerly. "Yes, that's great. Perfect. I'll, uh, do that."

Magnus chuckled. "Sounds good."

"Yeah," Alec smiled dumbly.

"Now can you get out? Not out of my apartment but out of the bathroom. I kind of have to pee."

"Oh. Right. All yours."

* * *

"I had a nice time tonight."

"Me too," Alec smiled.

It was little awkward. But the good kind of awkward. The "this is sort of weird because I've only ever been your friend but at the same time it's really nice" kind of awkward. The "I'm not ready for this night to end but don't know how to make you stay" kind of awkward.

Alec was very okay with that kind of awkward.

The night had started out a little tense, but they quickly fell back into their same routine. Apparently, dating wasn't all that different from friendship. Just a lot more flirting. Something Magnus was a little too good at.

Magnus opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then cut himself off. "Goodnight Alec." He closed the space between them and before Alec knew what was happening he was being kissed.

Alec had kissed a fair amount of people in his lifetime. Aline when he was eleven. Maia when he was thirteen. A couple more girls in high school. That never-to-be-mentioned time with Jace when he was seventeen. A few guys in college - okay fine, more than few, whatever, he wasn't responsible for anything he did while drunk.

Magnus was something else entirely. Kissing was not supposed to feel that good. That was what sex was for.

But it _was_ that good. Horribly brief - if three minutes of making against the door could be considered brief - but good. Great. Fantastic, even.

Magnus pulled away. They were both embarrassingly short of breath.

"Well that was-"

"Yeah," Alec agreed. He said goodbye to what scraps remained of his dignity and said, "You know...Technically this isn't our first date."

Magnus looked at him questioningly.

"I mean, sure it's our first _official_ date, but I think this counts more as like our third date."

Magnus caught on quickly. He nodded. "Right. At least. Maybe even our fifth date?"

"Yeah." That sounded good. "Fifth date."

...

Then Magnus voiced what they were both thinking. "Are we really trying to justify putting out on the first date?"

"I thought we agreed this was our fifth date."

"Which means we should have been doing this two dates ago."

"Long overdue," Alec said sadly, unable to bite back a grin as Magnus unlocked the door.

* * *

It was bad enough that they were twenty minutes late. Apparently Alec had forgotten to take two things into account. The first being that Magnus took forever to get ready. If they needed to be somewhere at six, Alec needed to tell him they had to be somewhere at five thirty. The second being that Magnus loved provoking people.

Alec's parents were not excluded from that.

"Sorry we're late." Alec didn't bother with an excuse. He was an awful liar and his parents would see straight through any bullshit anyway. He and Magnus took their seats, but while Alec picked up his menu, Magnus left his untouched.

"You must be Maryse and Robert," he said with a charming smile. "Pleasure to meet you both. So let's just get it all out in the open. My name is Magnus Bane and I'm dating your son, who I realize you thought was heterosexual for quite some time. I'm bisexual, which I personally define as the attraction to men, women, and some non-binary genders. I go to Pride every year. I'm an only child. My mom's dead - offed herself a long time ago - and my dad's in prison for murder but I prefer telling people that he's dead too. I went to college for five semesters, dropped out, and only recently went back to finish my degree. I'm an atheist and a social democrat, and I support the soldiers not the war."

Dead silence.

"So what's everyone thinking about getting for dinner?" Magnus asked cheerfully.

Alec tried and failed to hide his laughter.

Robert cleared his throat uncomfortably. "So, Alec, did you catch the Yankees game the other night?"

* * *

"We should move in together."

"Sure, whatever," Alec mumbled into his pillow.

And that was how one suggestion made while they were half asleep spiraled into this.

Alec had nearly forgotten all about it until Magnus started showing him apartment listings and telling him not to make plans so they could go look at them together.

It was nice.

Not nice in the "oh, how thoughtful/sweet" way. Nice in the "I love you and I'm excited to take the next step in our relationship with you" way. It was easy, natural like most things were with them. For as dramatic as Magnus liked to act, he didn't actually like to make a big deal out of things. Like saying I love you.

There were no deep and heartfelt confessions, or tears, or soliloquies in the rain, or rom com cliches. It was just something they had started saying. Wake up in the morning, pour some cereal, say I love you when one of them left. Give each other shampoo mohawks in the shower, brush their teeth, go to bed, say I love you as they drifted off to sleep.

He wouldn't want it any other way.

"So what do you think?" Magnus was beaming. "It's perfect, right?"

If he was being honest, he hardly knew what the place looked like. All he could see was the excitement in Magnus's eyes and the ear-to-ear smile on his face.

"I love it."

* * *

"Oh, go fuck yourself," Magnus snapped, pulling the blankets over him and turning his back to Alec.

Alec rolled his eyes and got into bed. No matter how bad their fights got, neither one of them liked sleeping alone.

He was right on the precipice of sleep when Magnus rolled over and broke the silence. "Psst. Hey. Alec."

"What?" He was too tired to keep arguing. They could continue in the morning. Preferably after a cup of coffee.

"We just had our first big fight as a couple that lives together."

Alec considered that for a moment. "Nice."

They high-fived without looking at the other. The next few minutes passed with slightly less tension. Then:

"Psst. Hey Alec."

Alec sighed heavily. "What now?"

"Wanna have sex?"

Alec was sure he used to have a spine. He just didn't know where it went. "Yeah, sure, why not."

* * *

"Oh hey babe," Magnus greeted him. He was standing in the hallway with two strangers. "These are our new neighbors, Jason and Sarah. They're moving into Mrs. Wallace's old apartment."

And thank God for that. Mrs. Wallace was an old woman who had kept slipping conversion therapy pamphlets under their door. They tried not to celebrate too hard when her miserable, wrinkled old ass finally moved to Florida.

Jason and Sarah both looked a hell of a lot more pleasant. Jason was holding a waffle maker. Horrible people didn't have waffle makers.

"Oh hey. I'm Alec." He extended a hand.

"It's so great to meet you!" Sarah exclaimed, bringing him in for a hug instead.

Well okay then.

"We just moved here from Connecticut," Jason said. "We got married a couple months ago."

Sarah nodded enthusiastically. "It was wonderful. We had a small ceremony in a church, just close friends and immediate family. My dress - oh, sweetheart, where are the pictures? We have to show them!"

"I'll go get them, honey."

Magnus and Alec shared a look.

"My parents sent us to Maui for our honeymoon; it was so beautiful there," Sarah said. "Where did you two go for your honeymoon?"

"Um." Alec looked at Magnus.

"We're not married."

"Oh, that's too bad. I love gay weddings!"

Magnus looked at Alec and mouthed _gay weddings?_

Alec shrugged.

It was nearly an hour later when they finally escaped back into their own apartment.

"Ugh," Magnus articulated. "Do they have to be so bloody _nice_?" He said it like it was some kind of curse word.

"I know what you mean. It almost makes me wish Mrs. Wallace hadn't left." At least she had been interesting.

"Right?! That story they told about their trip to Vermont? Oh my god, it would have been less painful had they just stabbed me. Like, no one cares about the stupid bed and breakfast."

Alec nodded his assent. Then he was inadvertently reminded of something. "Don't forget we have Jace and Clary's wedding to go to this month."

"Ugh."

"There'll be an open bar."

Suddenly eager, Magnus asked, "What day is it again?"

"The twelfth," Alec chuckled. "You know, the best part of having a boyfriend is that I have an automatic date for everything."

"Yeah, sure, nothing to do with the undying love and devotion or anything."

"Well you're going to die someday, so technically it's not _undying_ -"

"Shut up, Alec, love transcends death!"

* * *

 **AN: Okay, I swear I didn't mean for this to be all Alec's POV, it just kinda happened that way. I tried writing Magnus's, and I just couldn't get into it. Everything I wrote just didn't sound right.**

 **Please review! Leave me suggestions if you want more of this story, or prompts if you want other one-shots. And as always, tell me what you liked/didn't like. Or just smash your hand repeatedly against the keyboard.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Quick shout out to** **RaeRambles** **because she's awesome. Seriously, go read her stories. To** **Banewood** **and** **ynnila, I hope I did the Chairman Meow scene justice. + Banewood: I hope you also like the proposal. Last but not least,** **Manibarilo. Thank you so much for your review, I really appreciate the feedback.**

* * *

"Alexander, darling, I love you. I know we've had our ups and downs - it's been almost five years, of course we have - but we always worked it out." Magnus paused, like he was expecting to be interrupted. "However, I don't think we can keep doing this."

Alec's eyes watered furiously.

"I think we both could use some time apart. So I-"

"Achoo!"

"Goddamn it, Alec, it's two in the morning! Stop sneezing!"

"It's not my fault," he protested. "You're the one who brought home flowers. You know I'm allergic."

"The florist said they were allergy-friendly."

"The florist - achoo! - lied."

Magnus groaned, far louder than was necessary. "I just want to sleep," he whimpered, quietly contemplating whether or not to smother his boyfriend with a pillow.

* * *

"We should get a dog."

"No."

And it was all downhill from there. If Alec didn't love Magnus so much, he'd have stabbed him ages ago.

It started with hints. Subtle little clues that Alec didn't miss but could usually ignore. Magnus pointing out dogs they saw while they were out, telling Alec about how he had never had a pet growing up, and a bunch of other bullshit.

Then, after realizing his lack of progress, Magnus stepped up his game. He bought a dog toy. At first Alec thought it was just a stuffed animal, which was kind of a weird thing for Magnus to buy but he'd seen weirder. Then he picked it up. It squeaked.

Alec threw it out the window.

Magnus made him go downstairs and get it.

* * *

Alec was about to hit his breaking point. Jace and Isabelle thought it was hilarious, of course, and they had placed bets on when he would give in. (Jace wagered a month; Izzy bet a week.) Magnus kept sending him links to pet adoption websites, articles about horrible animal shelter conditions, and random but increasingly frequent pictures of cute dogs.

Alec was seriously considering changing his number.

And it wasn't like he didn't like animals. Magnus just hadn't thought this through. Getting a dog simply wasn't practical. Alec had spent most of his day preparing his case. He had facts and logic on his side. He should win, no contest.

Then he stepped on something furry.

It yowled and took off toward the living room.

Alec paused in the doorway and blinked. "Magnus?" He called.

"Yeah?"

"Please tell me you didn't get a dog."

Magnus was in the middle of putting away dishes when Alec entered the kitchen. "Of course not."

Alec sighed in relief. He must have been hallucinating. Or maybe they had rats. Either of those were preferable to Magnus bringing home a dog.

"I got a cat."

Alec reminded himself to take deep breaths and to not raise his voice. He loved Magnus. If he murdered him now, he would be very upset later. "You got a cat?"

Magnus nodded, grinning brightly. "Well you said we couldn't get a dog."

"So you got a cat." He was trying. He really was. But Alec just couldn't follow Magnus's twisted logic.

"His name is Chairman Meow."

"Of course it is."

Apparently he had a cat now.

* * *

So it happened like this.

One of Magnus's friends invited them to a dinner party. And because Magnus loved socializing and free alcohol, and Alec loved Magnus and free alcohol, they went.

It was after dinner, when everyone had a drink in hand and was talking about how awful their neighbors were or what "amazing" thing their kid did or where they had gone on vacation. (Being a Real Adult kind of sucked.) Magnus was talking with the host, and Alec was feigning interest in some guy's anecdote about his daughter.

He only zoned out for a minute, but the next thing he knew a blonde woman was asking him, "So are you here with anyone?"

Alec nodded and gestured to Magnus across the room. "Yeah, I'm here with my..." His what? Boyfriend sounded too trivial for the kind of commitment they had to each other. Partner was better, but it still seemed slightly off. "My husband," he finished. He wondered if lying about being married was socially acceptable.

Later, he and Magnus were walking back to their apartment and eating frozen yogurt.

"They're barely legal to drink, and they have a _baby_ ," Alec said.

"I know! Like, they're dumb as shit. They can't be parents."

"That's what I'm saying!"

They fell silent as they finished off their yogurts. Then: "So, someone asked me about my husband. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Alec blushed. "Oh right. That."

"Yeah, _that_ ," Magnus teased.

"I don't know, it just kind of slipped out. Calling you my boyfriend feels weird."

"Yeah it kind of does, doesn't it?" He paused. "Have you ever thought about getting married?"

"To you?"

Magnus shrugged. "To me, in general, whatever."

"Sure I have. Mainly because I want on your health insurance."

"Gold digger."

And that was how it started.

* * *

"I missed you," Magnus murmured against his lips.

"Missed you too."

"Hello to you too, Magnus," Isabelle grumbled from across the table.

Magnus pulled away to grin at her. "Sorry, Izzy.

"Oh no, don't mind me. Please continue making everyone in the room feel uncomfortable."

"Well if you insist."

Alec quickly covered Magnus's mouth with his hand. "Don't even think about it."

Magnus rolled his eyes and slapped Alec's hand away. "Whatever, fun-sucker. Hey, so were you able to get Monday off?"

"Yeah. What is this for anyway?"

"We're getting married."

"Oh okay."

"YOU'RE WHAT?" Isabelle shrieked, loud enough to shatter windows. Definitely loud enough to get the attention of the other diners.

"Marriage," Magnus said simply. "You know, that thing with the rings and the vows."

"When were you going to tell me? Who proposed to who? How did it happen? Where are you going for the honeymoon? Please tell me that this whole getting hitched in a courthouse thing is a joke."

Magnus looked at Alec as if to say _not it_.

Alec sighed. "After the honeymoon. I guess he proposed. You just saw it. We don't know. It's not a joke."

Isabelle blinked. "I...What? What do you mean I just saw it?"

"Just now. He told me to try to get Monday off work. I didn't know what it was for."

Isabelle took a deep breath. "Magnus Bane, please, for the love of God, tell me my brother is lying."

"What's the big deal?" Magnus shrugged. "Rings, vows, kiss, hitched. All we need are a couple of witnesses, and Catarina and Jace already agreed to do it. Then we'll lie to everyone about going to Belize or whatever, get a hotel in town and relax for a couple weeks."

"JACE KNEW AND HE DIDN'T TELL ME?"

Alec muttered, "I told you we should have just sent her a postcard."

* * *

"You've written your own vows?"

"Ah right," Magnus said, patting his pockets in search of his vows. "Let me just…shit, hold on, I know I have them somewhere."

Another minute passed by until Alec finally suggested, "Why don't I go first?"

"Brilliant idea, love. This is exactly why I'm marrying you."

Alec rolled his eyes and took out a piece of a paper. He unfolded it slowly, pausing to look up at his soon-to-be husband and smile. "Um, hi," he said, a little breathlessly.

Magnus bit his lip in a (failed) attempt to hide his grin. "Hi."

Alec took a deep breath. "Okay." He started reading. "Alec, I can't even begin to describe all that you've - wait a minute, these aren't my vows."

Magnus peeked at the paper. "Oh. Those are mine."

"Then where the hell are mine? I know I left them on the-"

"Ooh, did you leave them on the kitchen counter?"

"Yeah."

"…I might have thrown them away by accident."

Alec shrugged. "That's fine, I'll make something up. How hard can it be? I wrote mine last night in twenty minutes."

"I knew it! No one takes that long to get a glass of water."

The judge cleared his throat pointedly. "Your vows, please?"

"Right, that." Magnus nodded eagerly. "Alec," he began. "I can't even begin to describe all that you've done for me. It's been a long road to get here, but I wouldn't trade what we have for anything in the world. And…"

Alec smiled encouragingly.

Magnus frowned and squinted at the paper. "And I know…damn it, Alec, you smudged the ink."

"I did not! Maybe you just need a better pen," he claimed. "Oh, hey-"

"I swear to God, if you get me a pen for Christmas, I'm divorcing you." He tilted his head in contemplation. "Well, after we get married, of course."

"I have another appointment in half an hour," the judge told them. "If we could move this along, that'd be great."

"Pushy," Magnus muttered. "Fine, fine. Long story short - I love you, you're my other half, I never want to have to wake up alone again, I can't imagine my life without you, blah blah blah, insert other cliches here."

Alec couldn't help laughing. "Okay, I guess it's my turn now."

"That is usually how it works," the judge said under his breath.

"Alright, gimme a second…Ah! Got it," Alec exclaimed triumphantly. "You make me a better person, Magnus. I remember what my life was like before you, and it's infinitely better with you in it. After all these years, I don't think I could live without you - wait, scratch that, that's not true. I _can_ live without you, I just don't want to."

"It's supposed to be romantic, Alexander, not literal."

"Are you seriously correcting my vows?"

"They could use a little work, that's all I'm saying."

Alec threw his hands up in exasperation. "Whatever. I'm done with this. Just pronounce us married already," he told the judge.

"Gladly."

* * *

Alec breezed into the hallway and handed Magnus yet another room key. "Don't lose this one."

"You say that as if I'm doing it on purpose," Magnus grumbled as he unlocked the door to their suite.

"You got us locked out of our hotel room on our honeymoon."

"You know I'm bad with keys!"

"Forgive me for having a little faith in you."

Magnus flipped him off. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Want me to come with you?"

"God, I love you."

"The feeling is mutual."

"Oh wow, I'm swooning."

"Shut up. Hey, look, they left chocolates on the pillows!"

"Score."

* * *

"So have you guys thought about having kids? Adoption or something?"

Magnus snorted coffee up his nose. Alec loved him so much it was _gross_.

"Oh God no," Magnus said. "We're barely equipped to take care of ourselves."

It was true. Magnus constantly forgot to buy groceries, Alec continually put dry-clean-only clothes in the washing machine, and they both hated cleaning dishes. It was miracle Chairman Meow was still alive.

"You're such great babysitters though!" a once-again pregnant Clary enthused. "Stephen and Michael are always asking to go over to their uncles' house. Not to mention that this weekend you were taking care of four kids and somehow didn't die."

 _"_ Yeah _._ _One weekend_ ," Alec told her. "Kids are always cuter when you know you can send them home."

Magnus scoffed. "Ignore him. You should see the way he dotes on Izzy's twins."

Clary snickered. "I have seen it. It's adorable."

"I resent that." He went ignored by both his husband and his sister-in-law.

"Well as long as you two keep babysitting for free, I have no complaints."

"Hey Magnus, hey Alec," Tessa greeted as she walked in. Locks were basically useless at this point. "Thank you so much for doing this."

Jamie ran straight to Magnus while Alec took Lucie off her mother's hip. "It's no problem." He only exchanged a few more words with Tessa before she had to leave to catch her train.

Clary's eyes were like saucers. "You're kidding me, right?"

"What?"

"You're willingly taking care of more kids after you just spent all weekend doing just that?"

Magnus explained, "It's just for a few hours, so Will and Tessa can have a night to themselves."

"You two are saints, I swear."

* * *

"Alec, wake up!"

"Harumph?"

"It's one minute past midnight."

"And why do I care?"

"Because it's our fifteen year anniversary."

"Together or married?" Alec said, just to get a rise out of Magnus.

"I swear, I'll divorce you."

"You've been saying that for fifteen years. I'm starting to think you're full of shit."

"Your mom is full of shit."

"Ooh, nice comeback," Alec mocked.

Magnus pushed him off the bed, and Chairman Meow clawed his leg.

He wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 **So I think I'm gonna end this story here. Thank you to everyone who reviewed/followed. I will be posting more stories (probably one-shots) on my profile, so follow me if you'd like to know when I post them. As always, tell me what you did/didn't like in a review, or leave me a prompt for another story.**


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